House prices ‘rose £42 a day’

Homes typically piled £42 a day on to their value throughout 2014 as Britain’s housing market recovery gathered momentum, research from a property website has revealed.

The average property price increased by £15,191 over the last year to reach £268,895 on average, according to Zoopla.

Huge variations in the pace of the recovery have been seen across the country.

Over the last year, property values have typically leapt by £81,619 in London, by £27,675 in Edinburgh and by £21,689 in Aberdeen.

Newcastle, Reading, Dundee, Bristol and Milton Keynes also recorded particularly strong performances in terms of house price increases this year, Zoopla said.

Meanwhile, among the weakest-performing cities, average prices have edged up across 2014 by £978 in Bradford and by £1,346 in Hull.

For the second year in a row, Yorkshire and the Humber is the only region where house prices have fallen annually, recording an average decrease of £2,443.

At the start of 2014, a wave of pent-up demand from house hunters was unleashed into the property market, following the full launch of the Government’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage support scheme in late 2013.

By mid-2014, there were signs that demand was starting to cool, as speculation mounted over exactly when the Bank of England might start to increase the base rate from its historic 0.5% low, a move which would spell increased mortgage costs.

Stricter mortgage lending rules were also introduced in April, which meant that people looking to buy a home or remortgage had to provide lenders with more detailed information about their spending habits, so that lenders could work out whether or not the home loan they were applying for was truly affordable.

But in recent weeks there have been predictions that housing market activity could pick up again in the New Year, following the complete overhaul of stamp duty which was unveiled in the Autumn Statement.

The majority of people who are liable to pay stamp duty will pay less as a result of the reform.

Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall said: “The property market has maintained its momentum during 2014, with price increases across most of the country despite initial concerns that the spate of regulatory policies designed to prevent risky lending would curb demand.

“More regions this year saw property prices increase compared with last year, indicating that the property market recovery continues and that the buoyancy will likely continue in 2015.”

Here are the average property values by region in December 2014, with the change over the last year in cash and percentage terms, according to Zoopla:

:: London, £603,724, £81,619, 15.6%

:: South East England, £346,409, £29,675, 9.4%

:: East of England, £287,868, £20,696, 7.8%

:: South West England, £259,852, £17,513, 7.2%

:: Scotland, £179,627, £11,266, 6.7%

:: Wales, £170,259, £5,967, 3.6%

:: West Midlands, £193,057, £6,715, 3.6%

:: East Midlands, £182,797, £5,145, 2.9%

:: North West of England, £172,382, £4,010, 2.4%

:: North East of England, £173,263, £214, 0.1%

:: Yorkshire and the Humber, £155,628, minus £2,443, minus 1.6%

Here are the strongest-performing cities across Britain in terms of house price increases over the last year according to Zoopla, with the average value in December 2014 and the increase in cash and percentage terms:

1. London, £522,105, £81,619, 15.6%

2. Edinburgh, £261,688, £27,675, 11.8%

3. Aberdeen, £245,411, £21,689, 9.7%

4. Newcastle, £189,125, £15,268, 8.9%

5. Reading, £356,446, £27,525, 8.4%

6. Dundee, £160,963, £11,855, 8%

7. Bristol, £264,389, £18,601, 7.6%

8. Southampton, £249,832, £16,900, 7.3%

9. Northampton, £212,300, £14,085, 7.1%

10. Milton Keynes, £251,288, £15,977, 6.8%

Here are the weakest-performing cities across Britain in terms of house price increases over the last year according to Zoopla, with the average value in December 2014 and the increase in cash and percentage terms: